Oxide coated cutting insert

ABSTRACT

A cutting tool insert, particularly useful for machining of steel and stainless steel, comprising a body of a hard alloy of cemented carbide, cermet, ceramics, cubic boron nitride based material or high speed steel a hard and wear resistant coating; and at least (Al,Cr) 2 O 3  layer applied to said body is disclosed. Methods of making a cutting tool insert are also disclosed. In addition, methods for machining of cast iron using the cutting tool inserts are disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.12/399,466, filed Mar. 6, 2009, which claims priority to SwedishApplication No. 0800541-5 filed Mar. 7, 2008. The entire contents ofeach of the above-identified applications are hereby incorporated byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to tools for machining by chip removal. Morespecifically, the invention relates to cutting tool inserts comprising abody of a hard alloy of cemented carbide, cermet, ceramics, cubic boronnitride based material or high speed steel and a hard and wear resistantoxide designed to be used in machining of steels, preferably at highcutting speeds. The said coating is composed of one or more layers ofwhich at least one layer is a textured physical vapor deposited (PVD)corundum phase alumina containing chromium (Al,Cr)₂O₃.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Textured α-Al₂O₃ layers, produced with chemical vapor deposition (CVD)is disclosed in, e.g., EP 603144, EP 1528125, EP 1477581, EP 659153, EP1655387, EP 659903, EP 738336, EP 1655388, EP 1655392, US 2007/104945,US 2004/202877.

EP 1479791 discloses a cutting tool composed of cemented carbide orcermet, and a hard coating; wherein the hard coating includes an α-Al₂O₃layer formed by CVD, with the highest peak, measuring the inclination ofthe α-Al₂O₃ basal planes relative to the normal of the surface within arange of 0-10 degrees as determined by electron back scatteringdiffraction (EBSD).

EP 744473 discloses textured γ-Al₂O₃ layers produced by PVD.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,607 discloses a hard coating including (Al,Cr)₂O₃crystals and a chromium content higher than 5 at % wherein the(Al,Cr)₂O₃ is a single crystal. The coating is deposited at atemperature lower than 900° C. The hard coating is deposited by a CVD orPVD process.

When machining steels with an alumina coated cemented carbide tool, thecutting edge is worn according to different wear mechanisms, such aschemical wear, abrasive wear, adhesive wear and by edge chipping causedby cracks formed along the cutting edge. The domination of any of thewear mechanisms is determined by the application, and is dependent onproperties of the machined material, applied cutting parameters and theproperties of the tool material. In general, it is very difficult toimprove all tool properties simultaneously, and commercial cementedcarbide grades have usually been optimised with respect to one or few ofthe above mentioned wear types, and have consequently been optimised forspecific application areas. This can, for instance, be achieved bycontrolling the texture of the alumina layer.

What is needed is a wear resistant and hard oxide coated cutting toolwith enhanced performance for machining of steels and stainless steels.The invention is directed to these, as well as other, important needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the invention is directed to cutting tool insertscomprising a body of a hard alloy of cemented carbide, cermet, ceramics,cubic boron nitride based material or high speed steel comprising atextured oxide layer of corundum phase (Al,Cr)₂O₃ with excellent metalmachining properties.

In one embodiment, the invention is directed to cutting tool inserts,comprising:

a body comprising a hard alloy selected from the group consisting ofcemented carbide, cermet, ceramics, cubic boron nitride based material,and high speed steel; and

a hard and wear resistant coating applied on said body;

wherein said coating comprises at least one (Al,Cr)₂O₃ layer;

wherein said (Al,Cr)₂O₃ layer has a corundum phase crystalline structureand a structure and a composition (Al_(1−y)Cr_(y))₂O₃ with about0.5≦y≦about 0.7 with a thickness of about 0.5 μm to about 10 μm and afiber texture, rotational symmetry, in the direction of the coatedsurface normal with an inclination angle, φ, of the basal planesrelative to the coated surface normal is about 0°<φ<about 20° or theinclination angle, φ, for the highest peak in the pole plot is about0°<φ<about 20°.

In other embodiments, the invention is directed to methods of making acutting tool insert comprising:

a body comprising a hard alloy selected from the group consisting ofcemented carbide, cermet, ceramics, cubic boron nitride based material,and high speed steel; and

a hard and wear resistant coating applied on said body;

wherein said coating comprises at least one (Al,Cr)₂O₃ layer;

wherein said (Al,Cr)₂O₃ layer has a corundum phase crystalline structureand a structure and a composition (Al_(1−y)Cr_(y))₂O₃ with about0.5≦y≦about 0.7 with a thickness of about 0.5 μm to about 10 μm and afiber texture, rotational symmetry, in the direction of the coatedsurface normal with an inclination angle, φ, of the basal planesrelative to the coated surface normal is about 0°<φ<about 20° or theinclination angle, φ, for the highest peak in the pole plot is about0°<y<about 20°

said method comprising the step of:

depositing on said body said (Al,Cr)₂O₃ layer by cathodic arcevaporation using Al+Cr-cathodes with a composition of about (20 at %Al+80 at % Cr) and about (60 at % Al+40 at % Cr), an evaporation currentbetween about 50 A and about 200 A depending on the cathode size in anatmosphere comprising a gas selected from the group consisting of Ar,O₂, and combinations thereof, at a total pressure of about 2.0 Pa toabout 7.0 Pa, a bias of about −50 V to about −200 V, and a depositiontemperature of about 500° C. and about 700° C.

In yet other embodiments, the invention is directed to methods formachining of steel and stainless steel, comprising the step of:

using a cutting tool insert described herein at a cutting speed of about75-600 m/min, with an average feed, per tooth in the case of milling, ofabout 0.08-0.5 mm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1A shows a schematic view of the hexagonal crystal structure withthe a-axis (100), b-axis (010) and c-axis (001) marked.

FIG. 1B shows a schematic view of the fibre texture with (S) coatedsurface, (φ) the inclination angle of the c-axis (001) of the hexagonalstructure (FIG. 1A) and the normal (n) to the coating surface.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of the deposition chamber showing (1)vacuum chamber, (2 a) cathode material A, (2 b) cathode material B, (3)fixture, (4) power supply for biasing, (5 a) cathodic arc power supply(5 b) cathodic arc power supply, (6) inlet for process gas and (7)outlet for vacuum pump.

FIG. 3 shows a scanning electron micrograph in secondary mode of afractured cross section of a coating according to the invention. (A)body, (B) bonding layer, (C) (Al,Cr)O layer, (D) (Al,Cr)N layer and (E)TiN layer.

FIG. 4 shows an x-ray diffraction pattern of a textured (Al,Cr)₂O₃layer. The peaks of cemented carbide are marked with solid lines whereasthe peaks originating from (Al,Cr)₂O₃ with dashed lines.

FIG. 5A shows (001) pole figure and FIG. 5B shows (001) pole plot graphof a (Al,Cr)₂O₃ layer according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is directed, in one aspect, to a cutting tool formachining by chip removal, particularly useful in metal cutting of steeland stainless steel, comprising a body of a hard alloy of cementedcarbide, cermet, ceramics, cubic boron nitride based material or highspeed steel onto which a coating is deposited comprising:

preferably a first (innermost) bonding layer (FIG. 3, layer B) of, e.g.,TiN or (Al,Cr)N preferably less than about 0.5 μm according to priorart;

a layer of (Al_(1−y)Cr_(y))₂O₃ with about 0.5≦y≦about 0.7, preferably yis about 0.6, with a thickness of about 0.5-10 μm, preferably about 1-5μm, most preferably about 2-4 μm, with textured columnar grains. The(Al,Cr)₂O₃ layer has a corundum structure formed by PVD and a fibertexture with rotational symmetry in the direction of the coated surfacenormal with an inclination angle, φ, (FIG. 1B) of the basal planesrelative to the coated surface normal (FIG. 5A) or the inclinationangle, φ, for the highest peak in the pole plot (FIG. 5B) with about0°<φ<about 20°, preferably about 0°<φ<about 10° as determined by, e.g.,electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD) or x-ray diffraction (XRD).

The (Al,Cr)O layer has a compressive stress level of about −4.5<σ<−about0.5 GPa, preferably of about −3.0<σ<about −1.0 GPa.

The composition, y, of (Al_(1−y)Cr_(y))₂O₃ is determined by, e.g.,energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) or wavelength dispersive X-rayspectroscopy (WDS).

The body may further be coated with an inner single- and/or multilayercoating of, e.g. TiN, TiC, Ti(C,N), (Al,Cr)N or (Ti,Al)N, preferably(Ti,Al)N, (Al,Cr)N, and/or an outer single- and/or multilayer coatingof, e.g. TiN, TiC, Ti(C,N), (Al,Cr)N or (Ti,Al)N, preferably (Ti,Al)N,(Al,Cr)N, to a total thickness, including the thickness of the(Al,Cr)₂O₃ layer, of about 1 to 20 μm, preferably about 1 to 10 μm andmost preferably about 2 to 7 μm according to prior art.

The deposition method for the layer of the present invention is based oncathodic arc evaporation of an alloy or composite cathode under thefollowing conditions; (Al,Cr)₂O₃ layers are grown using Al+Cr-cathodeswith a composition between about (20 at % Al+80 at % Cr) and about (60at % Al+40 at % Cr) and preferably between about (30 at % Al+70 at % Cr)and about (50 at % Al+50 at % Cr). The evaporation current is betweenabout 50 A and about 200 A depending on the cathode size and preferablybetween about 60 A and about 90 A using cathodes of 63 mm in diameter.The layers are grown in an Ar+O₂ atmosphere, preferably in a pure O₂atmosphere at a total pressure of about 2.0 Pa to about 7.0 Pa,preferably about 4.0 Pa to about 7.0 Pa. The bias is about −50 V toabout −200 V, preferably about −50 V to about −100 V. The depositiontemperature is between about 500° C. and about 700° C., preferablybetween about 600° C. and about 700° C.

The invention also relates to the use of cutting tool inserts accordingto the above for machining of steel and stainless steel at cuttingspeeds of about 75-600 m/min, preferably about 150-500 m/min, with anaverage feed, per tooth in the case of milling, of about 0.08-0.5 mm,preferably about 0.1-0.4 mm depending on cutting speed and insertgeometry.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods andmaterials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used inthe practice or testing of the present invention, the preferred methodsand materials are now described. All publications mentioned hereunderare incorporated herein by reference. Unless mentioned otherwise, thetechniques employed or contemplated herein are standard methodologieswell known to one of ordinary skill in the art. The materials, methods,and examples are illustrative only and not limiting.

The present invention is further defined in the following Examples, inwhich all parts and percentages are by weight and degrees are Celsius,unless otherwise stated. It should be understood that these examples,while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given byway of illustration only. From the above discussion and these examples,one skilled in the art can ascertain the essential characteristics ofthis invention, and without departing from the spirit and scope thereof,can make various changes and modifications of the invention to adapt itto various usages and conditions.

EXAMPLES Example 1

Grade A: Cemented carbide inserts with the composition 10.3 wt % Co andbalance WC, were used.

Before deposition, the inserts were cleaned in ultrasonic baths of analkali solution and alcohol. The system was evacuated to a pressure ofless than 2.0×10⁻³ Pa, after which the body were sputter cleaned with Arions. At first, a bonding layer of TiN with a thickness of 0.2 μmfollowed by a textured (Al,Cr)₂O₃ layer of thickness 2.5 μm, were grownby cathodic arc evaporation of an alloyed (40 at % Al+60 at % Cr)cathode, 63 mm in diameter (position (2 a) and (2 b) in FIG. 2A) in99.995% pure O₂ atmosphere at a total pressure of 5.5 Pa and adeposition temperature of about 650° C. to a total coating thickness of3 μm. The evaporation current was 75 A and the bias was held at −75 Vduring depositions. Finally, a top coating consisting of 0.3 μm (Al,Cr)Nand 0.2 μm TiN was applied.

A fractured cross-section SEM micrograph of the coating is shown in FIG.3 with (A) body, (B) bonding layer, (C) (Al,Cr)O layer, (D) (Al,Cr)Nlayer and (E) TiN layer.

The XRD patterns of the as-deposited layers were obtained usingCuKα-radiation and a θ-2θ configuration. FIG. 4 shows the XRD pattern ofa coating according to the invention with a textured corundum phasealumina (Al,Cr)₂O₃ layer. The peaks originating from the (Al,Cr)₂O₃layer are marked with dashed lines whereas the peaks of cemented carbideare marked with solid lines.

The EBSD pole figure (FIG. 5A) and pole plot graph (FIG. 5B) of theas-deposited corundum phase (Al,Cr)₂O₃ layers in the c-axis (001)direction (FIG. 1A), respectively, showing a fiber texture (rotationalsymmetry) in the direction of the coated surface normal (FIG. 1B) withan inclination angle, φ (FIG. 1B), of the basal planes relative to thecoated surface normal between 0 and 20°. The highest peak in the poleplot is close to 0°. The EBSD data were obtained using a LEO Ultra 55scanning electron microscope operated at 20 kV equipped with a HKLNordlys II EBSD detector and evaluated with the Channel 5 software.

The residual stress, σ, of the (Al,Cr)₂O₃ coating was evaluated by XRDmeasurements using the sin² ψ method. The measurements were performedusing CrKα-radiation on the (Al,Cr)₂O₃ (116)-reflection. The residualstress value was 2.1±0.2 GPa as evaluated using a Poisson's ratio ofν=0.26 and Young's modulus of E=420 GPa.

The composition, y=0.49, of (Al_(1−y)Cr_(y))₂O₃ was estimated by energydispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis using a LEO Ultra 55 scanningelectron microscope with a Thermo Noran EDS detector operating at 10 kV.The data were evaluated using a Noran System Six (NSS ver 2) software.

Example 2

Grade B: A layer of 3.0 μm Ti_(0.34)Al_(0.66)N was deposited by PVD oncemented carbide inserts with the composition 10.3 wt % Co and balanceWC, according to prior art.

Example 3

Grade C: A coating consisting of 3.0 μm Ti(C,N)+3 μm α-Al₂O₃ wasdeposited by CVD on cemented carbide inserts with the composition 10.3wt % Co and balance WC, according to prior art.

Example 4

Grade D: Example 1 was repeated using cemented carbide inserts with thecomposition 5.3 wt % Co and balance WC.

Example 5

Grade E: A layer of 3.0 μm Ti_(0.34)Al_(0.66)N was deposited by PVD oncemented carbide inserts with the composition 5.3 wt % Co and balanceWC, according to prior art.

Example 6

Grade F: A coating consisting of 3.0 μm Ti(C,N)+3 μm α-Al₂O₃ wasdeposited by CVD on cemented carbide inserts with the composition 5.3 wt% Co and balance WC, according to prior art.

Example 7

Grades A, B and C were tested in machining in steel.

Operation Face milling Cutter diameter  125 mm Material SS1672 Inserttype SEEX1204AFTN-M15 Cutting speed  300 m/min Feed  0.2 mm/tooth Depthof cut  2.5 mm Width of cut  120 mm Results Tool life (min) Grade A(grade according to invention) 7.4 Grade B 6.2 Grade C 3.3

The test was stopped at the same maximum flank wear. The wear resistancewas much improved with the grade according to the invention.

Example 8

Grades A, B and C were tested in machining in stainless steel.

Operation Shoulder milling Cutter diameter   32 mm Material SS1672Insert type XOEX120408-M07 Cutting speed  275 m/min Feed 0.25 mm/toothDepth of cut   3 mm Width of cut  8.8 mm Results Tool life (min) Grade A(grade according to invention) 6.2 Grade B 4.1 Grade C failedThe test was stopped at the same maximum flank wear. The wear resistancewas much improved with the grade according to the invention.

Example 9

Grades D, E and F were tested in machining in stainless steel.

Operation Interrupted turning Material SS2348 Insert type CNMG120408-MR3Cutting speed  80 m/min Feed 0.3 mm Depth of cut   2 mm Results Toollife (cycles) Grade D (grade according to invention) 7 Grade E 2 Grade F5The test was stopped at the same maximum flank wear. The wear resistancewas much improved with the grade according to the invention.

Example 10

Grades D, E and F were tested in machining in stainless steel.

Operation Interrupted turning Material SS1672 Insert type CNMG120408-MR3Cutting speed  350 m/min Feed  0.3 mm Depth of cut   2 mm Results Toollife (min) Grade D (grade according to invention) 11.1 Grade E  4.5Grade F  9.2The test was stopped at the same maximum flank wear. The wear resistancewas much improved with the grade according to the invention.

When ranges are used herein for physical properties, such as molecularweight, or chemical properties, such as chemical formulae, allcombinations and subcombinations of ranges specific embodiments thereinare intended to be included.

The disclosures of each patent, patent application, and publicationcited or described in this document are hereby incorporated herein byreference, in their entirety.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that numerous changes andmodifications can be made to the preferred embodiments of the inventionand that such changes and modifications can be made without departingfrom the spirit of the invention. It is, therefore, intended that theappended claims cover all such equivalent variations as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A method of making a cutting tool insert comprising: a bodycomprising a hard alloy selected from the group consisting of cementedcarbide, cermet, ceramics, cubic boron nitride based material, and highspeed steel; and a hard and wear resistant coating applied on said body;wherein said coating comprises at least one (Al,Cr)₂O₃ layer; whereinsaid (Al,Cr)₂O₃ layer has a corundum phase crystalline structure and astructure and a composition (Al_(1−y)Cr_(y))₂O₃ with about 0.5≦y≦about0.7 with a thickness of about 0.5 μm to about 10 μm and a fiber texture,rotational symmetry, in the direction of the coated surface normal withan inclination angle, φ, of the basal planes relative to the coatedsurface normal is about 0°<y<about 20° or the inclination angle, φ, forthe highest peak in the pole plot is about 0°<φ<about 20° said methodcomprising the step of: depositing on said body said (Al,Cr)₂O₃ layer bycathodic arc evaporation using Al+Cr-cathodes with a composition ofabout (20 at % Al+80 at % Cr) and about (60 at % Al+40 at % Cr), anevaporation current between about 50 A and about 200 A depending on thecathode size in an atmosphere comprising a gas selected from the groupconsisting of Ar, O₂, and combinations thereof, at a total pressure ofabout 2.0 Pa to about 7.0 Pa, a bias of about −50 V to about −200 V, anda deposition temperature of about 500° C. and about 700° C.
 2. Themethod according to claim 1, depositing said (Al,Cr)₂O₃ layer bycathodic arc evaporation using Al+Cr-cathodes with a composition ofabout (30 at % Al+70 at % Cr) and about (50 at % Al+50 at % Cr), anevaporation current between about 60 A and about 90 A depending on thecathode size in an atmosphere that is O₂ at a total pressure of about4.0 Pa to about 7.0 Pa, a bias of about −50 V to about −100 V and adeposition temperature of about 600° C. and about 700° C.
 3. A methodfor machining of steel or stainless steel, comprising: machining with acutting tool insert according to claim 1 at a cutting speed of about75-600 m/min, with an average feed, per tooth in the case of milling, ofabout 0.08-0.5 mm.
 4. A method for machining of steel or stainlesssteel, comprising: machining with a cutting tool insert according toclaim 1 at a cutting speed of about 150-500 m/min, with an average feed,per tooth in the case of milling, of about 0.1-0.4 mm.